Day #: 51 – 62
Location(s) Visited: Saint-Flour, Le Puy-en-Valey, Vichy, Planchez, Dijon, France
Summary: The hot weather continues to dictate our route and the places visited on this leg. France is now in the 3rd heat wave of the year and this one is a real doozy with temperatures topping 100 degrees F in many places. Normally France does not get this type of weather until later in the summer and the locals are concerned it is going to be a brutal summer (note: we are so glad we are heading soon north to Norway (all the way to the Arctic) and Sweden). After leaving Salers, we did not venture far before we parked up in Saint-Flour which was a medieval village (split into an upper and lower village with steep 300+ steps separating them) that sits on a volcanic plateau in the Auvergne region of France. Our next stop was Le Puy-en-Velay which is the start of one of the Camino de Santiago routes and by chance was also hosting the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alps on the day we arrived. We were able to watch the start of this road cycling race which included many of the cyclists who will be riding in the Tour de France this year. Tony was in heaven! Our next stop was to the town of Vichy which is considered the “Queen of the Spa Towns” and is also a UNESCO World Heritage location. While we did not take part in any spa services, we did sample drinking the naturally occurring effervescent waters (Tracey’s conclusion: it was “unusual”). This town ended up being one of our favorite places we have visited on this trip. With another heat wave approaching, we climbed again in elevation to the Parc Naturel Régional du Morvan and randomly chose Planchez entirely for its shady municipal Aire for a few days. We were surprised to find the Western Life festival was in full swing upon our arrival including rodeo, Texas BBQ, and country music. It was quite a weird experience and didn’t appear too authentic (but don’t tell the French that as they seemed to be having a lot of fun with it!). As the current heatwave was really setting in, we arrived in Dijon where we had previously booked an Airbnb (with A/C!) to provide a break from the van. It was pure serendipity that we booked this Airbnb (here is link and we highly recommend it: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/42683592) many months ago for the hottest week in France and we are not complaining at our luck. We have been exploring Dijon in the early AM and evening to beat the heat and we are quite impressed with this city for its lovely architecture, good bike infrastructure, and the quite friendly French people. This city has made our short list of places we might consider living in the future.
Overall Impression of Location(s): Saint-Flour = 2, Le Puy-en-Valey = 3, Vichy = 4, Planchez = 1, Dijon = 4
4 -added to our favorite list and we would return again
3 – a great place to visit
2 – OK for one visit, but we would not return again
1 – we wish we hadn’t wasted our time here
Saint Flour: Founded in the fourth century around Saint Flour’s relics, this historic cliffside stronghold now has a stable, vibrant mountain population of roughly 6,500 residents. 
Saint-Flour: The upper town’s clifftop ramparts offer sweeping, dramatic views over the lower river valley and the distant, rolling Cantal mountains. 
Saint Flour: The village is split into two levels. The upper town sits on a high, rocky basalt cliff which is 900 meters above the lower village. Yes, we walked to both. #Exercise 
Saint Flour: Due to the dry mountain winds whipping through this area, the cathedral’s rector recently decided to partner with a local charcuterie to age artisan hams inside the cathedral towers to fund restorations for its historic organ. 
St. Flour: Inside there is a simple, dark basalt nave, dramatic 15th-century purgatory murals, and a rare “Beautiful Black Madonna” sculpture. 
Saint Flour: These curved clay tiles called tuiles feature a semi-cylindrical shape that tapers at one end. When these tiles are laid in alternating “over-and-under” rows, they create an undulating scrolled pattern across the roof. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: This is the start of the leg but spoiler alert: American powerhouse Quinn Simmons claimed a thrilling Stage 4 victory in Le Puy-en-Velay, launching a devastating late attack to solo across the historic volcanic finish line. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly Critérium du Dauphiné) brought elite cycling to this village, hosting a dramatic mountain finish and subsequent stage start over its volcanic terrain. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Covering 1,208 kilometers across eight stages, the brutal mountainous 2026 route launched from Vizille, crossed Le Puy-en-Velay, and concluded atop the steep Plateau de Solaison. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Mexican prodigy Isaac del Toro won the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, securing the yellow jersey after winning back-to-back mountain queen stages over the brutal 1,208-kilometer route. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Tony road some of the route of the race later in the afternoon. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The town has about 18,200 residents. The population is slowly shrinking annually, with a relatively high median age around 44 years. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The village sits in a rugged mountain basin, dominated by sharp volcanic rock pillars that rise steeply above the town to hold historic stone chapels. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Built in 961, Saint-Michel d’Aiguilhe is a Romanesque chapel atop a 279-foot volcanic needle, reached by climbing 268 steep, rock-hewn steps. The 3 front vaults are cantilevered over the city therefore the steps into the church arrive in the middle of the building. #Unusual 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The Via Podiensis spans 750 kilometers, guiding pilgrims from Le Puy across rugged volcanic terrain to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port at the Spanish border. An estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people hike this specific French trail each year. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Famous since the 16th century, Le Puy’s intricate bobbin lace industry is preserved today by a national conservatory producing luxury master-crafted textiles for international haute couture. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: Le Puy’s unique architecture merges volcanic geology with Romanesque structures, featuring zebra-striped stone facades, clifftop chapels, and a cathedral suspended over steep hillsides. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: We loved Le Puy for its dramatic volcanic skyline, historic UNESCO-listed cathedral, world-renowned bobbin lace heritage, and its role as the iconic Camino pilgrimage start 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The 52-foot Notre-Dame de France is a towering red iron statue of the Virgin Mary perched on Rocher Corneille. Cast from 213 Russian cannons captured at the Siege of Sebastopol, it offers sweeping panoramic views of the entire volcanic basin. 
Somewhere in France: We occasionally need to add Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) to our van and it is conveniently located at many fueling stations. DEF breaks down harmful nitrogen oxide emissions into harmless nitrogen and water vapor. 
Le Puy-en-Velay: The Auvergne is a dramatic central French region characterized by ancient dormant volcanoes, deep thermal valleys, rugged medieval castles, and rich volcanic farming soils. We liked it a lot and plan to return. Tony is really enjoying the cycling in this area. 
Vichy: Vichy is a UNESCO-listed French spa town famous for its healing thermal springs, elegant Belle Époque architecture, and its complex history as WWII’s Vichy France capital. 
Vichy: In spite of the heat, Tony was able to get some miles in on his road bike…but he had to leave no later than 7:30 AM. #Heatwaveisnojoke 
Vichy; An intense June 2026 heat dome placed Vichy on orange alert, pushing temperatures near 40°C (104°F) and triggering regional water restrictions. Simply….it was HOT! #Shadeismyfriend 
Vichy: The historic Hall des Sources sits nestled between Vichy’s natural thermal springs, sheltered by a grand, covered metal promenade walkway. 
Vichy: Vichy’s population of 25,449 is growing slightly (+0.44% annually), reversing decades of shrinkage. High-quality UNESCO heritage tourism combats a high median age by drawing younger residents. 
Vichy; The Allier River flows directly past Vichy, transformed by a historic dam into the scenic Lake Allier which hosts professional rowing, sailing, and beautiful lakeside promenades. 
Vichy: The Parcs d’Allier is a massive, UNESCO-listed riverfront park complex created under Emperor Napoleon III, featuring century-old trees, scenic lakeside boardwalks, and beautiful English-style landscape gardens…and also the perfect plan for our yoga session. 
Vichy: The wooden Lake Allier promenade offers miles of scenic pedestrian paths, sun loungers, and lively outdoor cafes right along the waterfront. This was a hopping place on both sides. The cafes seem to be bustling and doing a very solid business. 
Vichy: Housed in a 1908 Neo-Louis XVI pavilion, the Source des Célestins is Vichy’s most famous spring. Emerging naturally at 22°C (71.6°F) since ancient times, its iconic mineral-rich water is prized globally for high bicarbonate and low sodium content. 
Vichy: Vichy’s water heals because its high bicarbonate, sodium, and carbon dioxide content neutralizes stomach acid, boosts liver function, and accelerates skin and metabolic recovery…but it just gave us digestive issues. Boo! #silentbutdeadly 
Vichy: High temperature and extreme mineral concentrations turn certain Vichy waters into potent medical treatments, requiring clinical prescriptions to guarantee safe dosages. We saw many locals partaking in these waters. 
Vichy: Tony is both a bagette snob and a date snob. This 2.2 kg box of medjool dates were some of the best we have ever eaten. Jordan’s medjool dates deliver a rich caramel flavor with deep honey undertones, offering an intensely sweet, dessert-like richness. #yum #almostgone 
Vichy: We love our Bromptons. The rear rack maxes out at 22 pounds and we pushed the limits with this grocery haul which included 6-1.5 L of Evian water (~20 pounds). 
France: Temperature heat map during the 2nd heat wave. See that tiny yllow patch in south-central France? That is where we escaped to in the Morvan Forest. 
France: Tell me you love baguettes without saying baguettes. #flourlips #addict 
France: The 3rd heat wave with temperatures while we were in Dijon. Soooo glad we had A/C in our Airbnb. #Hot 
Dijon: Although our Airbnb is a stone’s throw from the historic city center, we were able to park our van on the street. Tony bought a relfective cover at Aldi but the inside temperature was still 110+ degrees. 
Dijon: The 16th-century Palais de Justice in Dijon features an ornate, French Renaissance façade, a spectacular carved wooden ceiling, and historically housed the powerful Parliament of Burgundy. 
Dijon: Place de la Libération is Dijon’s stunning, semi-circular 17th-century royal square, featuring golden limestone facades, dancing fountains, and bustling cafes directly facing the Ducal Palace. 
Dijon: Dijon’s architecture is a stunning blend of medieval and Renaissance heritage. The city features medieval timber-framed houses, iconic glazed-tile roofs (toits bourguignons), and grand 17th-century stone mansions (hôtels particuliers) flanking golden limestone plazas, all anchored by the towering, fortress-like Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. 
Dijon: Dating from the 13th to 15th centuries, Dijon’s medieval timber-framed houses showcase wealthy merchant status through elaborate wood carvings and classic wattle-and-daub facades. 
Dijon: The church of Notre-Dame de Dijon features an astonishing row of 51 false gargoyles across its facade, famously removed after a tragic 1240 incident and meticulously restored in 1881. 
Dijon: Semper Virens is a striking 2013 anthropomorphic sculpture by Gloria Friedmann in Dijon’s Place François Rude. Blending a human face with vibrant green oak leaves, this topiary-style art installation explores the delicate, interconnected relationship between humanity and nature. 
Dijon: Dijon’s free “DiviaCity” shuttle fleet uses small, 100% electric buses to navigate narrow, pedestrianized historic streets. They offer residents and tourists clean, zero-emission transit connecting major downtown plazas, museums, and landmarks. 
Dijon: The modern Dijon Opera House opened in 1998, the 1,611-seat structure features an exterior of beige limestone and an elliptical skylight. It holds cultural significance as a benchmark European venue for major classical symphonies, operas, and large-scale performing arts. We really enjoyed Jaap van Zweden conducting a powerful Stravinsky performance of The Rite of Spring. 
Dijon: The sympohony was almost sold out so our seats were in the first row and this was our view. Ask us to tell you the story of the teenage girl eating potato chips from a crinkly bag during the performance and her getting a tongue lashing from the 1st violist at the intermission. #Crazy 
Dijon: Dijon is the city of the Owl and we followed the Owl Tour map to many of the sites. 
Dijon: So many interesting gardens and small parks in Dijon. We really enjoyed our visit. #Mustardrocks
Distance Driven on Leg: 684 km
Weather/Temperature (°F): The weather has been just plain hot on most of this leg. We had a few cooler days between heat waves, but mostly it has been hot and quite a bit more humid than we are used to. The temperatures cool off overnight, but rapidly rise in the morning and by 9:30 AM it is already in the high 80s. These types of temperatures do not make for the best road trip experience as the inside of the van is usually 10-15 degrees hotter than the outside temperature since it is a dark gray metal can. The whole reason we leave Arizona in the summer is to avoid these types of temperatures so it has been a bit of a surprise that it has been so warm so early in the year.
Road Conditions: We have been driving on the usual French roads and we drove a mixture of D roads (smaller roads connecting rural villages) and A and N roads (highways and truck routes). Overall, most French roads are in quite good condition.
Chickpea Mechanical Status: The campervan refrigerator is still working but we have still not heard back from Thetford on our 2nd warranty claim. Our Hymer dealership is getting ghosted by the manufacturer but they will keep trying. Since the refrigerator is still hanging in there, we plan to head to Norway and Sweden for the rest of the summer on a hope and a prayer it continues functioning.
We have yet to get our cracked windshield replaced as planned on 16 June. The order was placed for the new windshield but there is a “supplier shortage” and therefore it is “unknown” when the windshield will be shipped. Luckily, one of the staff at the commercial Mercedes-Benz dealer where we had our 16 June appointment took pity on us. He spent a lot of time calling around and checking the nationwide inventory system and procured the ONLY windshield with all of our options in all of France! He then proceeded in setting up an appointment in Annency to have it installed including printing off of the name and address for our appointment, providing directions and writing all of our appointment details down. It was great French customer service! We now have a new appointment in Annecy on 22 June for the installation of our windshield. Fingers crossed this all works out!
Highlights:
Tony was quite excited that we were able to see the start of the Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alps cycling race when it was departing from Le Puy-en-Valey. We were arriving in town just as the team buses and cars were arriving to line up and Tracey accidentally bypassed the Gendarmarie who were blocking public traffic and got in line with all of the team vehicles who were moving across the blocked roads (opps!). Nobody said anything to us, but we sure looked funny in between all of the team cars and team buses. The starting line was only a short distance from our Aire and we found a front row spot right atthe start line and Tony was able to see all of his favorite riders up close and personal (the riders are weirdly both skinnier and more muscular in person) and also salivated over all of their newest top of the line bikes and cyling gear. Tracey was more focused on salivating over all of the professional top of the line cameras and lens the press were using so it was a win-win for the both of us.
We stayed at a very popular municipal Aire that was quite bikable along the Allier River to Vichy. We were both very impressed with Vichy for its top-notch bicycle infrastructure, fantastic parks and lovely architecture. We noticed a lot of younger people in Vichy, many of which seemed to be either running, cycling or rowing. We cycled all over the city, did yoga in the park and visited 2 different thermal springs to test the famous effervescent waters (click for a YouTube Short of Tracey’s facial opinion of the water: https://youtube.com/shorts/rvx2ydTgAXI?is=jBCRAngSWKEqKwmD). Overall, we really enjoyed the Vichy vibe and we will certainly go back.
Dijon has been on our places to visit list for the last few years due to its size, location and interesting architecture. Overall, we 😍 Dijon and it is a city which punches above its weight in terms of amenities. We are staying at the cutest Airbnb (with A/C!) right outside the historic center. The Airbnb is owned by YouTuber, Suzi from Fired Up In France (https://www.youtube.com/@firedupinfrance). We felt like we were dropped into Suzi’s life and we were able to experience Dijon as a local including doing all of our errands via bicycle. We toured the historic city center (multiple times!), cycled on the canal and went to the Symphony at the Dijon Opera Center (a truely stunning building). This Airbnb stay was the perfect reset we needed to beat the heat and prepare for the next leg of our trip to Norway and Sweden.
Lowlights:
Have you ever had one of those days where everything feels like it goes wrong and the world is against you? Well we had one of those days on this leg. It was blasting hot outside, we couldn’t find shade, we had the fiasco at the commerical Mercedes-Benz dealership where they didn’t have our windshield (and failed to notify us of this prior to our arrival), and our appointment with a Brompton dealer (Bicy Dijon) was a bust as they did not have correct diagnostic equipment we needed to check the health of one of our batteries. Did we mention is was really hot outside??? We were both super cranky and feeling defeated but the following day we rebounded and it all seemed trivial in retrospect. #NewDay
We have recently had issues with one of our Brompton batteries where it will randomly error and shut off in the middle of ride (not ideal!). It is still under warranty and we were able to take it to another Dijon Brompton dealer (Cyclable Dijon) and they provided a fault report. We are now awaiting a response from Brompton related to if and how they will replace the battery. For now, it still works and we can reset it when it errors, so we are just forging ahead.
Tracey has not been feeling 100% and realized it was because she had been repeatedly “glutening” herself with one of the seasoned tofu brands we have been buying from the grocery store. We never thought to check tofu for gluten! Tracey has Celiac Disease so gluten-free is not a choice, but a necessity. On top of this, the Vichy water has caused both of us to have some other digestive issues. Ugh! Hopefully, Tracey will be fully recovered in 2-3 weeks, but we will now read every package and check for gluten, regardless of what it is. #LessonLearned
We have really enjoyed using Gemini AI to help us plan our trip and overall it has done a great job, until that is we used it in Saint-Flour. The directions and suggestions it provided sent us on a wild goose chase. We eventually found the “Goat Steps” but several of the other stops were never found. We enjoyed exploring the area and it was all fine, but there were a lot of extra steps and more than a few swear words uttered. #GeminiFail
The Western Life festival in Planchez was not our favorite. As ethical vegans, we don’t support rodeo and there was a whole lot of rodeo going on both days we were there. It was surreal to see so many cowboy hats, cowboy boots and prairie style dresses. We had to laugh as one of the concerts for a country music act was actually a blues band (nobody seemed to care though as people really did seem to be enjoying themselves). In addition, the livestock also brought tons of flies which made it difficult to enjoy sitting outside. #Whining #HighMaintanence
The heat has been no joke while we have been in France. We can’t stay in the van when the temperatures are above 90 degees F as the temperature is over 100 degrees F inside due to the van being a dark grey metal can. These heat events will definately impact how we plan to travel in Europe in future years.
Up Next: We thankfully have a few more days in Dijon in our awesome A/C Airbnb. Due to our upcoming appointment in Annecy for our windshield replacement (note our windshield now has 3 cracks which continue to expand) we have changed our route, yet again. After leaving Dijon, we had initially planned to visit Nancy and then the Louvre Museum in Lens before driving north through Belgium, Netherlands and Germany on our way to Denmark where we will pick up our ferry to Norway. Now our new plans include heading in the wrong direction (south) to Annecy first and then routing north through Switzerland (and another $53 roadway vignette) and Germany enroute to Denmark #FreeBirdRoute. With the heat wave still forecasted for much of Western Europe in the near future, we plan to drive several long days once we leave Annecy (where we have already booked ourselves into a hotel) until we can get outside of this current heat dome. Even Frankfurt, Germany it is going to be 101+ degrees F next week. Yikes! #NoBueno #NorwayHereWeCome
P.S. Link to 30 second bonus YouTube Short of Tony climbing up to Puy Violent discussed during the previous blog post: https://youtube.com/shorts/Z9h42qyfJ_k?is=jrl_pWXe4Damb0CE
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We really enjoyed Salers, Dijon, and Vichy on our travels thru France. It is too bad the heat is having an impact on your trip. We are curious how the 90 day French only visa works within Schengen. Do you start and stop a different French only clock when you arrive and depart from France? We are trying to figure how to do a tour thru Scandinavia but don’t want to do only one trip in the year we do it, but the shoulder seasons might not work for Scandinavia.
Ron – The French Long Term Visa has allowed us to stay here longer as our time spent in France does not count toward our Schengen days. If you go this route yourselves. let’s talk on the phone as there are some quirks and nuisances to this that weren’t obvious to me. We are looking forward to Norway/Sweden weather. We are still in Dijon and it is supposed to be 98 today.